


Rose-Colored Boy

by kaileidohscope



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Domestic, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Farmer Do Kyungsoo | D.O, Flower Nymph (Anthousai) Kim Jongin | Kai, Fluff, M/M, Romance, Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-27
Updated: 2019-05-27
Packaged: 2020-03-07 19:50:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18880054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaileidohscope/pseuds/kaileidohscope
Summary: And just like that, quietly and sudden, Jongin entered his life. Just like that, things got a little different.





	Rose-Colored Boy

**Author's Note:**

> Inspiration / Referenced Music:  
> • As The World Falls Down - David Bowie  
> • Heroes - David Bowie  
> • Come on, Eileen - Dexy's Midnight Runners  
> • Turning Page - Sleeping at Last  
> • From The Ground Up - Sleeping at Last
> 
> Massive thanks to my friends H, G, and K for giving me feedback and helping me mold this fic into what it is. Gushy, mushy, ooy-gooy fluff, basically. It's not exactly as I envisioned, but I'm still very happy it, and I hope you all will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing this little piece <3

Kyungsoo met Jongin on an ordinary day in spring; when the apple blossoms were freshly sprouted, and rain clouds lingered in the sky on most days. It was gradual, really, the obviousness of Jongin's presence. It started in subtlety, from the amount of missing apples from Kyungsoo's basket of pickings increasing, to the small clutches of artemisia blooming overnight at the base of all his honeycrisp trees. The blossoms became more sporadic, showing up in all the dark corners and crannies of his small farm.

He meticulously unearthed every flower bush that sprouted, convinced they’d steal the nutrients from his precious apple trees. Eventually, he gave up that battle. The more he plucked the flower blossoms, the more they showed up in the following days- in a vaster breed and type. Daffodils, hyssops, chrysanthemums, and tansys, among others that Kyungsoo was lost on naming. Before he knew it, his apples trees standing in cropped green fields became apples trees standing in beautiful fields of ever blooming flowers.

He was mystified as to how they all came into existence, how they maintained such health among themselves without any tending or watering. His trees seemed to thrive in their presence, producing fruits with the sweetness of candy, unblemished and bright in their color. Eventually, Kyungsoo came to enjoy the flowers.

It was an early morning in May when he discovered the anthousai. He had cleared away a large patch of land in favor of planting a new row of Pink Lady sprouts. He had come to check on how they fared overnight when he paused at the sight of a man crouched near the tree furthest to the left. He was preening through a small bunch of marigolds- marigolds that hadn't been there the day prior, Kyungsoo noted with annoyance. He was gangly in length, with sun-kissed skin and small rose buds poking through his mop of fuchsia hair.

When he noticed Kyungsoo's presence, he wasn't the slightest bit startled. Even as Kyungsoo demanded to know  _ who the hell _ he was and  _ what the hell _ he was doing on his property, the nymph simply smiled up at the other and stated with utmost certainty, “Those lonely, so I give friends to make happy feeling! I hope isn't bother you.”

Kyungsoo's heart had abruptly turned to putty at the sight of his breathtaking smile and fumbled Korean.

He was an ethereal being, with beauty beyond words. And just like that, quietly and sudden, Jongin entered his life. Just like that, things got a little different.

  
❀  
  


Kyungsoo had heard of anthousai in fleeting supermarket gossip; tales of pesky little creatures floating around crops and planting flowers where they needn't be, stealing food from opened windows and building nests in corn fields. All he'd heard of them is what big pests they were, how if you were to find one loitering on your farm, you were smart to call pest control.

He'd never heard anything of their beauty, of how their skin glows gold in the sunset, or exactly how enrapturing one's gaze could be. The anthousai was one of the softest and most gentle creatures he had ever observed. He didn't immediately take any action to remove the nymph, and in that gap of procrastination -- or  _ hesitation _ \-- Kyungsoo saw just how pleasant the young man was. How he tended the flowers with the utmost care and chattered to his apples trees as if they understood his every word.

The anthousai didn't cause any notable harm to his orchards, and he had no crop fields to worry of him nesting in. If anything, the creature brought him ample produce and soaring colors with sales. People seemed to really enjoy the Doh's Apples extraordinary flavor profiles and pristine condition. So Kyungsoo decided to let him be - let him greet his orchards at daybreak and linger around his front porch until dawn.

  
❀  
  


The nymph had asked permission to plant lilies along the pathway from Kyungsoo's backdoor out towards the livestock barn, and Kyungsoo simply conceded because he found no reason not to. Later that afternoon, when the sky was a cocktail of fuchsia and orange and thin purple clouds, Kyungsoo carefully sat on the steps of his back porch and watched the anthousai work in silence.

He was perched with his knees in the dirt, seated back against his calves as he brought his clasped hands up to his mouth. Eyes closed, he murmured a string of sounds Kyungsoo couldn't understand. It was unlike any language he had ever heard before, with strange tongue clicks and sudden drops between certain sounds. Spoken from the front of the mouth in some parts, then abruptly jumping to the back of the throat. Kyungsoo couldn't mimic it even if he tried, so he didn't. He listened in bewilderment and watched in awe as the nymph unfolded his hands in front of himself, and within them rose a single seed.

The seed swelled for a moment, trembling violently before it cracked at one side, and a small sprout burst towards the sun. It grew with unnatural speed, as if the whole scene had been time-lapsed right before his very eyes. When it formed a small bud of white, a promise of blossom, Jongin leant forward and carefully lowered the sprout into the small hole he had prepared. He patted the dirt into place above its delicate roots, and sat back with a gentle smile of satisfaction.

 

He continued this process of planting each flower one-by-one, giving each his entire care and attention as he birthed them from his palms, then placed them in the dirt to flourish anew.

It was on the last flower, closest to the porch, that he noticed Kyungsoo's presence. He wasn't startled to see him, as he never seemed to be, and waved at the human with a warm smile in greeting. Kyungsoo had flustered at first, a little embarrassed of the prospect of being caught eavesdropping, but gave a sheepish smile of his own nonetheless.

The anthousai faced forward with his palms clasped, then paused and turned back towards the human. He titled his head in a beckoning motion. "Come to help. Can make very pretty flower if there is big energy of two."

Kyungsoo was slightly unsure, but he nodded anyway as he approached. He couldn't see how he could be of any help with no magic in his veins, but the anthousai seemed unaware of this little detail. He crouched down beside him, releasing a soft breath through his nose.

"I don't have any magic," he said with a small, despondent sigh, "I can't make flowers like you do. I'm not a..." It occurred to him then that he didn't know what to call the anthousai as - if  _ anthousai _ was really the right term to use. "I'm… just human."

"That is okay!" The nymph beamed, holding his clasped palms in between the both of them, gesturing towards Kyungsoo's own with a wide smile. "Place both hand over top of mine."

Kyungsoo hesitated slightly, unsure how or where to place them exactly before settling them on either side of the nymph's, overlapping the back of his hands, slightly towards his wrists.

Warm hands- a small part of his brain instantly registered. Warm, like his eyes in the sunset. Warm, like his golden skin beneath the bleakness of clouds.  _ Warm _ .

"Close eyes and focus all of thoughts to one thing. Think of seed growing big with energy, like put  _ all _ energy into inside it. Strong focus!" The anthousai recaptured his drifting thoughts, and Kyungsoo blinked several times before quickly nodding his head. He wondered briefly if the nymph had mind-reading powers before unobtrusively shaking the thought away and closing his eyes.

He did as he was told, focusing on the little seed held tight under his hands. The anthousai's hands. Warm hands. Soft, too. Soft, warm hands. Slender fingers, nails on the longer side. Faint, protruding veins under smooth skin. Warm. Warm skin. Warm hands.

"Focus." The anthousai said softly, and Kyungsoo felt the heavy weight of his gaze. He opened his eyes, and sure enough, he was on the receiving end of a stern stare. Stern, but softened by the tiny hint of a smile.

His ears heated, and he furrowed his brows suspiciously, "...Can you hear my thoughts?"

This made the anthousai laugh, a quiet little huff of air at the absurdity as he closed his eyes again. "No. But I do sensing you are not focus."

Kyungsoo's whole face heated this time, and sheepishly closed his eyes again once the nymph resumed. He took a deep breath, reining in his thoughts and  _ focusing _ as he was told to.

He envisioned the little seed growing, expanding into a green, sturdy stem with a small bud of black to blossom into a flower of ashy pedals. He really liked black. A black lily would be very pretty, he thought. So he imagined the black lily reaching towards the sky and flourishing.

The warmth behind his palms gradually increased. As the heat grew, a soft vibration softly hummed along with it, increasing in intensity and ferver until Kyungsoo felt the reverberations all through his arms and chest. His whole body felt warm, drained, heavy - as if the small seed was pulling all the strength from his core and leaving him lightheaded.

It stopped all at once, and he felt the anthousai's hands open under his own. His eyes fluttered open slightly dazed; his vision blurry, and his fingers were still trembling despite the vibrations having stopped.

"Look," A quiet whisper. Kyungsoo blinked a couple times before the nymph's fuzzy outline sharpened and came back into focus. He was gazing down at their hands, where a small flower levitated in the middle of his palms. A lily with black pedals, a deep emerald stem, and two velvet leafs. "Look the flower you made."

Kyungsoo admired the flower quietly; he was too much in awe to find any words. Then his gaze found their hands, Kyungsoo's resting lightly at his wrists. His skin was very dull in comparison, lacking warm kisses from the sun. The anthousai's face, his fond smile, round cheeks, and dark eyes crinkled with happiness.

"It is a pretty flower." The anthousai said with a hint of a giggle, and Kyungsoo found himself agreeing even though his gaze wasn't set on the flower above their hands. It was on the roses in the nymph's hair, and the nymph's eyes. His small nose. Scarlet lips.

"May I know your name?" The words tumbled out of his mouth before he realized he was speaking aloud. A heartbeat, and then Jongin's umber eyes drifted toward him. Another heartbeat, Kyungsoo realized maybe the anthousai didn't want to tell him as he watched the nymph lower the black lily into the ground.

He was about to offer an apology when a strange series of quiet sounds interrupted him. Kyungsoo watched the other's lips with furrowed brows. "...What?"

"Name." The anthousai said, patting the dirt into place before looking back at Kyungsoo. The long string of sounds flowed from his lips again, and Kyungsoo was still lost trying to follow them. It started with something similar to  _ 'Chzong'  _ and ended with something close to a  _ 'quein'. _ In the middle was series of clicks and vowels and nothing Kyungsoo's mouth could repeat.

" _ Jong _ …  _ in _ ?" He tried with his face screwed up in embarrassment. The anthousai burst into laughter, and Kyungsoo was almost thankful when he brought those  _ warm _ hands up to cover that  _ earth-shattering _ smile. It gave him a moment to reel his racing heart to a steady beat again.

"Okay," The anthousai giggled after a moment. "You call me as  _ Jongin _ . It is almost close."

Kyungsoo smiled bashfully, nodding his head as he tried the name. "Jongin."

Jongin's face light up, and there went Kyungsoo's heart again. This time, it was a lot harder to calm it.

  
  
❀  
  
  


Jongin really loved his dogs. Kyungsoo had a small variety of livestock, but the anthousai was appropriately more enthused with his two rowdy little poodle puppies. Huchu and Meokmul, as they were named, liked Jongin quite a lot too. Every day, Kyungsoo was woken by the impatient pawing at the front door as the pups begged to go greet their new favorite friend each morning.

He'd cook breakfast for the both of them, and would always greet the nymph first thing in the morning with a warm plate of pancakes or waffles. It was only a matter of time before Jongin was welcomed into his home, and they shared comfortable breakfasts on the porch while the puppies sniffed around the yard too many days for Kyungsoo to count. They spoke of many things, from the new flowers Jongin was wanting to plant, to how Kyungsoo's apple sales were going.

Sometimes, Jongin spoke of his family and the colony he came from. It had never occurred to Kyungsoo that he had a place to call home, but then again, Jongin wasn't there all the time. Sure, he was there every morning, but come evening- the anthousai slipped silently away from Kyungsoo's orchard, into the thick brush of the surrounding forest.

 

Kyungsoo began leaving his door unlocked, and despite the risk it offered it only ever resulted Jongin cozied up on his soft couch at dusk. With his chest bare, and his thin, leathery, leafy pants drifting dangerously low on his hips.

The vines of pink roses winding around his front porch, and the need for hanging pots of flowers in all his windows was new - but Kyungsoo couldn't say he didn't like them. Their floral scent and vibrant colors made up for any other issue. And they made Jongin smile, and that alone was a sight Kyungsoo could never tire of.

  
  
  
❀

 

Jongin was kind and quiet; shy but not timid. He was the type of person who needed few words to convey the things they felt, and Kyungsoo found that quite admirable. Most admirable, especially when Jongin lent over and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek several weeks into their friendship. He had been in the middle of apple picking, and the nymph had insisted he help. Though he didn't do much helping; he mostly sat there, staring at the elder with unreadable eyes and a deep concentration.

Kyungsoo had been a little taken aback at first, gazing wide-eyed at the anthousai for a couple speechless moments. The small rosebuds in Jongin's hair faded in color slightly, wilted at the stems as they shared a moment of unsure silence and he took Kyungsoo's lack of response as anything but good.

“I'm sorry,” he quickly breathed, “I should not have.” Only four months into learning, his Kyungsoo-taught Korean was slightly improving.

“You missed.” Kyungsoo casually stated after a small pause.

Jongin’s brows furrowed as if the man before him had spoken in a brand new language. “I was confused of your meaning?” He was still struggling with tenses, mixing them up like a fresh salad and using the one he thought was right.

“I said, you  _ missed _ .” Kyungsoo repeated with patience, a corner of his mouth pulling up into a bashful smile as he placed a hand near Jongin's nape. He carefully leant into a proper kiss, right on the lips this time. Their first kiss. The rosebuds in Jongin's hair flourished with his uplift in emotion, blooming into tiny little blossoms that nearly sparkled in the sunshine.

Jongin began kissing him quite often after that, and Kyungsoo never tired of the way it made his little rosebuds dance with glee as they broke away with short breath, flushed cheeks and shy smiles. The innocence was untarnishable.

 

❀

 

His quiet days of distant bird chirping and crickets were soon filled with music as the anthousai learned how to work Kyungsoo’s old stereo. His old collection mostly consisted of classic hot 100s tapes, but luckily the tape player on the stereo still had some function to it. Jongin was very fond of David Bowie's music, so his secret Bowie stash was well-appreciated.

Jongin fumbled with the tapes at first, putting them in backwards by accident and glaring as if it was  _ their _ fault for not fitting. Kyungsoo watched him fondly, smiling to himself, before carefully showing him how to insert them. He showed Jongin his favorite tapes, and let the anthousai hold his hands and coax him into some one-sided dancing. Jongin danced and twirled, and ducked beneath their arms, and Kyungsoo laughed and giggled and let himself be pulled into an embrace as they stumbled recklessly around the living room.

_ 'Come On, Eileen'  _ had never been his favorite song, but he found a newfound fondness for it when it accompanied Jongin's laughter.

Some days were welcomed with a playful Jongin holding him by the waist as Kyungsoo prepared their breakfast, giggling in his ear about how they  _ ‘could be heroes - just for one day’ _ , and absolutely refusing to let Kyungsoo set breakfast in peace.

Others began with the whimsical softness of  _ ‘As The World Falls Down’ _ \- Jongin's absolute favorite track. Kyungsoo liked these days most, when the anthousai would sit on the porch with the front door propped open to let the sweet breeze in and the music out.

Kyungsoo would watch him, admiring the golden rays of early sunrise illuminating around him like an angelic halo. The rosebuds in his hair, the soft bronze of his skin, the gentle pout of his lips as he gazed out over his fields of carefully crafted art, the blooming flowers - all of it, all of Jongin, was utterly beautiful. These were the days when Kyungsoo was sure of the feelings swelling up in his chest; a small bud of love that Jongin tended to unknowingly, as he did with all his gorgeous blossoms.

This seed, though unintentional and unobtrusive, was one of Jongin's finest works in Kyungsoo's opinion.

❀

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted this to end a little differently, however I ran short on time. But! I fully intend on adding a little epilogue chapter after ONE for ALL reveals, so stay tuned for that! ^^


End file.
